It was the first ever SEC meeting between Florida and Texas. It was also one of the largest crowds to pack the Stephen C. O’Connell Center to date this season. As bright as the lights may have been, the Gators didn’t disappoint.
UF head coach Todd Golden said after Florida’s loss to Missouri on Jan. 14 that his team didn’t play with the underdog mentality that has propelled the Gators to their success. However, against UT, they seemingly had a chip on their shoulders once more.
Behind a prolific performance from its backcourt, the No. 5 Florida men’s basketball team (16-2, 3-2 SEC) protected its home court in an 84-60 victory over Texas (12-6, 1-4 SEC) on Saturday.
“I thought we played incredibly hard,” Golden said. “We were not perfect. We had some silly turnovers in transition, some missed coverages here and there, but when we play with that little effort, it allows us to make some mistakes and still be victorious.”
Florida senior guards Alijah Martin and Walter Clayton Jr. paved the way offensively. Martin recorded a game-high 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field with six rebounds and four assists. Clayton Jr. added 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting and two 3-pointers. UF sophomore center Alex Condon had a scoreless first half, but finished with his fourth double-double this season with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
“A lot of people didn’t expect us to be where we at,” Clayton Jr. said. “[People] overlooked us when we were younger, or whatever. Now we got this [core] group of guys.”
It was a slow start offensively for both sides in the opening minutes. Florida started just 1-of-10 from the field and missed all three 3-point attempts it took. But Texas was cold as well, making just two of its first eight field goals despite taking a 4-3 lead into the under-16 timeout.
Out of the break, UT came out firing, knocking down three straight field goals to grab a 12-6 advantage with 14:17 remaining in the first half. While UF’s starting lineup struggled to find its offensive rhythm early, junior forward Sam Alexis and junior guard Denzel Aberdeen came off the bench to provide a spark.
Alexis made a mid range jumper, and Aberdeen followed with a 3-pointer from the top of the key on Florida’s next possession to cut the Longhorns’ lead to three points. From there, the Gators got hot.
Florida ripped off a 15-0 run in over six minutes (seven points coming from Clayton Jr.) while Texas went on a 1-of-10 shooting skid of its own as UF led 28-18. Perhaps Clayton Jr.’s most memorable bucket in that stretch came on a deep ball that tied Michael Frazier II’s UF record for consecutive games with a 3-pointer at 41.
“To have my name with some of [the] other guys up there, they were great players obviously,” Clayton Jr. said. “But just getting a win, I’m happy about that. That’s all that matters.”
In the final minutes of the first half, a solid slip screen by UF sophomore center Reuben Chinyelu left him wide open for a layup, and a driving-and-one finish by Clayton Jr. gave Florida a nine-point advantage. However, Texas scored four straight points before the Gators took a 37-30 lead into halftime.
In the second half, UF kept UT at bay, though the Longhorns cut Florida’s lead to 49-42 with 13:36 remaining in regulation. That was before the Gators blew the game open with a 14-2 run that saw Martin bury a 3-pointer and throw down a dunk that allowed the Gators lead grow as large as 24 before the final buzzer.
“When we go on those runs, we come together,” Condon said. “You can just hear the crowd behind us and they show that they really care. We see everything that they do.”
The Gators quickly snapped out of their 1-for-10 start from the field in an efficient manner. UF finished just under 50% from the field (33-of-67) and shot 8-of-20 (40%) from distance. The biggest offensive takeaway may have come from inside the paint where Florida scored 44 points to UT’s 20.
Defensively, it was Condon and senior guard Will Richard setting the tone. Richard had three steals and Condon snagged four and tallied one block en route to holding the Longhorns to under 40% from the floor and right at 25% from 3-point range.
“A big positive from today’s game for our defense was that we turned them over,” Golden said. “They had 14 turnovers and this is a team that is not turnover-prone.”
Next, Florida will hit the road to take on the South Carolina Gamecocks in Columbia. Tip-off from Colonial Life Arena is slated for 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
Contact Max Tucker at mtucker@alligator.org. Follow him on X @Max_Tuckr1.
Max Tucker is a senior transfer student at UF. After obtaining his A.A. in Journalism from Santa Fe College in 2023, he chose to further his education at Florida's College of Journalism and Communications. Max is currently pursuing his Bachelor of Science in Journalism with a specialization in sports and media. He enjoys golfing and going to the beach with his friends in his free time.
